Written Answers Monday 16 July 2007

Scottish Executive

British-Irish Council

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its priorities are for the British-Irish Council meeting in July 2007.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government’s priority for the British-Irish Council is to engage constructively with the other member administrations.

Cancer

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which age groups will initially be targeted to receive the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine to help prevent cervical cancer.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government are committed to providing the HPV vaccine to girls aged 12 to 13, in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and are working with the NHS on the practical and logistical issues around a nationwide vaccination programme. We aim to implement the programme by autumn 2008.

Cancer

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing a "catch-up" vaccination programme against the human papilloma virus (HPV) for older women to help prevent cervical cancer.

Shona Robison: We are currently awaiting advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the introduction of a catch up campaign against the HPV.

  Further advice is expected in October.

Common Agricultural Policy

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to support deer farming through Common Agriculture Policy support schemes.

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the concerns of Scottish deer farmers who consider that they are disadvantaged by receiving no Common Agricultural Policy support, in comparison with English deer farmers who do receive such support.

Richard Lochhead: Following agreement reached at the June Agriculture Council, we expect to have the flexibility to operate the National Reserve separately in Scotland, and so will be giving further consideration to this matter in that context.

Culture

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-740 by Linda Fabiani on 20 June 2007, whether it believes that separating responsibility for the events strategy from the tourism strategy is acceptable.

Linda Fabiani: It is not the case that our events strategy is any more separate from our tourism strategy than it has ever been; they will continue to be very closely linked as essential drivers of sustainable economic growth. The fact that our tourism policy, and our strategy on major events, both important aspects of growing Scotland’s economy, are now in complementary ministerial portfolios, does not inhibit that linkage. EventScotland continues to be an integral part of VisitScotland, but we want our major events strategy to work more closely in supporting the promotion of Scotland as a nation, external affairs, and sports and cultural policy as well as supporting strong tourism growth.

Domestic Abuse

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to continue the operation of the Domestic Abuse Court at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will agree in principle to a phased roll-out of the Domestic Abuse Court at Glasgow Sheriff Court to cover the whole of Glasgow.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to develop an overarching national structure of domestic abuse courts and a national action plan to consider the lessons of the Glasgow pilot scheme and the roll-out of best practice across Scotland.

Kenny MacAskill: I am considering how best the Executive can support how the courts deal with cases of alleged domestic abuse. I will take into account the independent evaluation of the pilot court in Glasgow Sheriff Court and also the progressive implementation of summary justice reform.

  The pilot court has brought a range of benefits to victims and families. At the same time, the research does not recommend simple replication of the Glasgow model. It stresses the need for local solutions to meet local needs.

  Domestic abuse touches on portfolios of several Cabinet Secretaries and, together, we are committed to finding a way forward which:

  reflects the seriousness of domestic abuse as a crime and sends a strong message of zero tolerance;

  capitalises on the learning of the pilot;

  provides adequate and timely support to victims of domestic abuse and their children, who can often be the unseen "victims" of this crime;

  respects the discretion of the judiciary to organise court business as they see fit;

  recognises that court-based action is one of a range of measures for combating domestic abuse which must be fully integrated and mutually supportive, and

  is affordable and sustainable for the long-term.

  We will announce our conclusions shortly.

Education

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many probationary teachers it estimates will not have a permanent teaching post in August 2007.

Maureen Watt: The Scottish Executive undertakes an annual teacher workforce planning exercise with the aim broadly to balance supply and demand at a national level and produce sufficient teachers to fill vacancies, not only at the start of term in August but also those emerging during the year ahead because of the normal turnover of staff.

  In previous years, surveys by the General Teaching Council for Scotland have found that around 90% of newly qualified teachers are working in schools by the autumn term and the Teacher Census shows the vast majority of them are working in August/September.

Education

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the additional 300 new teachers, announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 20 June 2007 ( Official Report c. 880), will be employed in each local authority area.

Maureen Watt: Funding amounting to £9 million in a full year is being distributed on the basis of GAE indicators for primary teaching to employ 300 teachers. The employment of teachers in teaching posts is a matter for local authorities.

Education

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the additional 300 new teachers, announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 20 June 2007 ( Official Report c. 880), will be employed in teaching P1, P2 or P3 classes.

Maureen Watt: The provision of the additional funding is primarily to allow local authorities to employ additional teachers in pre-school and in P1 to P3 in deprived areas. The employment and deployment of teachers is a matter for local authorities.

Gaelic

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-737 by Linda Fabiani on 20 June 2007, how it will monitor the operation of the Gaelic digital broadcasting channel and for how long.

Linda Fabiani: Scottish ministers have a close interest in the preparations for the launch of the Gaelic digital channel. Ofcom has a key role in monitoring the Gaelic Media Service (GMS) and the operation of the digital service. An Ofcom working group which includes the BBC, GMS, Scottish Executive, Scotland Office and DCMS meets regularly to discuss progress towards launch of the channel. This group was established to oversee the development of the channel. This arrangement will be revisited when the Gaelic digital channel is operational.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the managed clinical network for pain services in the west of Scotland.

Shona Robison: We welcome the development of the pain Managed Clinical Network in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and are providing funding to help with its establishment.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to establish an integrated pain service in each NHS board.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement the recommendations of the 2004 McEwan report on the provision of pain services.

Shona Robison: This is primarily a matter for NHS boards. To encourage them to develop integrated pain services in their area, we issued the McEwan Report in December 2004 under cover of Health Department Letter (2004)48 (HDL), which described the report as providing a helpful framework within which pain services can be enhanced. The HDL commended the report to boards, and asked them to give particular consideration to local issues in respect of the services they provide for chronic pain.

  We also expect boards to be familiar with the best practice statement on the management of chronic pain in adults issued by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) in February 2006.

  NHS QIS has been following up both the McEwan Report and its best practice statement by means of a benchmarking exercise intended to establish the current adult chronic pain services across primary, secondary and tertiary care. The report on that exercise should be published in the near future and we will work with NHS QIS on the best way of taking forward the priority actions in that report.

  The question refers to integrated services, and we would encourage boards to investigate the pain Managed Clinical Network approach being developed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include the management of pain in the annual NHS performance assessment framework.

Shona Robison: The NHS board annual reviews will look at the services which each board provides for those with long-term conditions, as reflected in the completion of their CHPs’ long-term conditions self-assessment toolkit and action plans. We would expect chronic pain services to have been included in that exercise.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will monitor and evaluate the benefits of the managed clinical network for pain services in Glasgow with a view to extending this service throughout Scotland.

Shona Robison: The network will be responsible for implementing best practice and quality standards in the provision of chronic pain services, and developing patient pathways. As with all Managed Clinical Networks, the Scottish Government would be keen to spread the lessons learned, to enable the development of similar networks in other NHS board areas.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards offer patients with back pain access to self-referral physiotherapy services.

Shona Robison: This service is now available in most NHS boards, and is a good example of innovative ways of working which provide faster and better access to physiotherapy services in local communities.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what new or existing roles would compensate for the number of GPs retiring in the next few years and what the estimated timescales are for increasing the level of training for extended role practitioners.

Shona Robison: Based on the numbers currently in post and on estimates of expected retirals gathered through local and national workforce planning surveys, there are sufficient GPs in post and in training to meet the demands of NHS boards in Scotland. New and extended roles, such as those of community practitioner nurse prescriber, nurse independent prescriber and community pharmacist will free up GP time for even greater patient care but are not specifically intended to compensate for retirals. The number of GP training places required is considered annually as part of the workforce planning process.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) will be acceptable to NHS Scotland for new medicines and treatments for use in NHS Scotland and under what circumstances a higher or lower QALY threshold would be acceptable.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides the NHS in Scotland with advice on new medicines. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland provides advice on technologies assessed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The SMC and NICE consider cost-effectiveness information alongside the clinical and patient benefits. Net cost per QALY gained is one factor in the decision making process. Guidance on incremental cost-effectiveness ratios and net cost per QALY gained is contained in the NICE publication, Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal which can be found at http://www.nice.org.uk/download.aspx?o=201973 .

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be provision in the long-term conditions toolkit action plans for managed care networks to cover long-term conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, including ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, and, if so, what the timescales are for the establishment of such networks.

Shona Robison: The toolkit is meant to promote the improvement of services locally, according to the prioritised needs of each locality. The development of Managed Care Networks for the conditions mentioned would be one of the possible vehicles for service redesign, and would be consistent with the thinking in HDL(2007)21 on strengthening the role of Managed Clinical Networks. It highlights the role of Managed Care Networks in promoting integration of services across the health and local authority sectors.

  We shall therefore keep this point in mind when considering the Action Plans derived from CHPs’ completion of the long-term conditions toolkit.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor changes in services available to people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, given that it is a marker condition in the long-term conditions toolkit.

Shona Robison: This issue will be discussed with those who take forward the evaluation of the Toolkit.

  NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is also carrying out an audit of care in rheumatoid arthritis to monitor implementation of SIGN Guideline 48 and to investigate whether there are any significant variations in the provision of care between care teams, hospitals and NHS boards.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources are available to community health partnerships and NHS boards to improve access to rheumatology services in NHS Scotland.

Shona Robison: Community Health Partnerships are part of NHS boards, and therefore receive delegated budgets from boards to deliver a range of services. Those include all primary and community based services, including services for those living with long-term conditions such as arthritis.

Health

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what preparations are being made to introduce a vaccination programme against the human papilloma virus (HPV) to help prevent cervical cancer.

Shona Robison: Responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of routine childhood and adult vaccination programmes rests with NHS Health Protection Scotland (HPS). The Scottish Government continues to set policy and agree strategy.

  A steering group has been set up by HPS, with representation from the Scottish Government, NHS Health Scotland (NHS/HS), NHS boards and National Services Scotland to identify and progress the work required to roll out the incorporation of an HPV vaccine into the routine childhood immunisation programme.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of NHS dentists undertake some private work.

Shona Robison: Information about the number and percentage of dentists who undertake some private work is not held.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with type 1 diabetes use an insulin pump to control their diabetes, broken down by NHS board, and whether people with diabetes who meet National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) criteria are provided with the funding and clinical support to enable them to use an insulin pump across Scotland.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-673 on 14 June 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has met in connection with NHS Lanarkshire and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: I have met with a number of people in connection with NHS Lanarkshire on different dates and for different lengths of time.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met Professor David Kerr prior to her announcement on accident and emergency services in Lanarkshire and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, I had met Professor Kerr once prior to 6 June, for approximately 30 minutes.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing’s view is of the former Medical Director of NHS Lanarkshire’s comments that Lanarkshire cannot support three accident and emergency units and that without changes the service will deteriorate and collapse.

Nicola Sturgeon: I have been clear that the board’s revised service proposals will be subject to a process of independent scrutiny to assess their safety, sustainability, evidence-base and value for money, and to be satisfied that account has been taken of local views.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will guarantee that the five community casualty units in Lanarkshire designed to bring care closer to patients will be opened on time, in accordance with A Picture of Health , and that any impact of her decisions will not affect the roll-out of the service.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will guarantee that the community facilities in Lanarkshire designed to bring care closer to patients will be opened on time, in accordance with A Picture of Health , and that any impact of her decisions will not affect the roll-out of the service.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will guarantee that the mental health and learning facilities in Lanarkshire designed to bring care closer to patients will be opened on time, in accordance with A Picture of Health , and that any impact of her decisions will not affect the roll-out of the service.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional financial resources will be provided to support the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing’s decision on the future of accident and emergency services in Lanarkshire.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether accident and emergency services at (a) Monklands, (b) Wishaw and (c) Hairmyres hospitals will continue to provide a full service to the public on a 24/7 basis.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether accident and emergency services at (a) Monklands, (b) Wishaw and (c) Hairmyres hospitals will be supported on a 24/7 basis by (i) general surgery providing 24/7 receiving services, (ii) general medical providing 24/7 receiving services, including provision for admissions of older people, (iii) orthopaedic surgery providing 24/7 receiving services, (iv) anaesthetic services on a 24/7 basis, including general critical care services, (v) radiology services on a 24/7 basis, (vi) paediatric receiving services, (vii) obstetric receiving services and (viii) gynaecology receiving services.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if (a) general surgery providing 24/7 receiving services, (b) general medical providing 24/7 receiving services, including provision for admissions of older people, (c) orthopaedic surgery providing 24/7 receiving services, (d) anaesthetic services on a 24/7 basis, including general critical care services, (e) radiology services on a 24/7 basis, (f) paediatric receiving services, (g) obstetric receiving services and (h) gynaecology receiving services were not to be provided at (i) Monklands, (ii) Wishaw and (iii) Hairmyres hospitals, these hospitals would meet the accepted definition of an accident and emergency facility.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional staff, at what grades, will require to be recruited to continue to provide a full accident and emergency service at (a) Monklands, (b) Wishaw and (c) Hairmyres hospitals.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional budget has been allocated to NHS Lanarkshire to implement the reversal of the decision taken by its board to redesign accident and emergency services.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the decision to retain accident and emergency services at (a) Monklands, (b) Wishaw and (c) Hairmyres hospitals will have on patients attending accident and emergency with minor injuries at these hospitals.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will guarantee to introduce the network of community casualty units throughout Lanarkshire as outlined in A Picture of Health .

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when building work will commence and be completed at (a) the Airdrie Resource Centre, (b) Bellshill Health Centre, (c) Carluke Health Centre, (d) Clydesdale Hospital, (e) Coatbridge Dental and Primary Care Centre, (f) the East Kilbride Resource Centre, (g) Greenhills Dental Centre, (h) Hamilton Resource Centre, (i) Kilsyth Health Campus, (j) South Lanarkshire community dental surgeries, (k) Wishaw Health Centre, (l) Cumbernauld Community Casualty Unit, (m) Hairmyres Community Casualty Unit, (n) Wishaw Community Casualty Unit, (o) Monklands Community Casualty Unit, (p) Lanark Community Casualty Unit, (q) the Monklands Hospital redevelopment, (r) the Hairmyres hospital extension and redevelopment, (s) the Wishaw Hospital extension and redevelopment, (t) Coathill mental health complex, (u) Hairmyres mental health acute assessment unit, (v) Caird House mental health complex, (w) Monklands mental health acute assessment unit and (x) Strathclyde learning disability assessment and treatment unit.

Nicola Sturgeon: As I outlined in my statement in the Chamber on 6 June, I have instructed the board of NHS Lanarkshire to review their original plans and to produce revised proposals that will enable accident and emergency services to continue at the three main hospital sites in the region. I have been clear that, as far as possible within the resources available to the board, I want them to retain their primary care and community development programmes.

  I recognise that there are many issues to address, for example relating to clinical workload and staffing. I want these challenges to be faced up to in a way that puts patients first and is innovative.

  It is now a matter for the board to determine how best to deliver these services and to produce proposals. Their proposals will then undergo a process of independent scrutiny, following which I expect to take a decision by the turn of the year.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what minimum services it considers are required to constitute an effective and sustainable accident and emergency facility.

Nicola Sturgeon: We recognise that a range of support services are available to accident and emergency units across Scotland, and that these appropriately take account of local circumstances.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what work has already been undertaken to establish a community casualty facility at the five sites designated in A Picture of Health .

Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHS Lanarkshire.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be made available for the Scottish Ambulance Service to provide additional ambulance and paramedic services in Lanarkshire as a result of the reversal of the decision taken by the NHS board to redesign accident and emergency services.

Nicola Sturgeon: As I outlined in my statement in the Chamber on 6 June, I have instructed the board of NHS Lanarkshire to review their original plans and to produce revised proposals that will enable accident and emergency services to continue at all three sites in Lanarkshire. I am clear that, as far as possible within the resources available to the board, I want them to retain their primary care and community development programmes.

  I recognise that there are many issues to address, for example relating to clinical workload and staffing. I want these challenges to be faced up to in a way that puts patients first and is innovative. I would expect the Scottish Ambulance Service to be fully involved as the board takes this important work forward so that it may be ready to ensure that any resource consequences are accommodated.

  It is a matter for the board to determine how best to deliver these services and to produce proposals. Their proposals will then undergo a process of independent scrutiny, following which I expect to take a decision by the turn of the year.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to engage with clinicians who supported the establishment of community casualty facilities throughout Lanarkshire, as agreed by the Executive and NHS Lanarkshire.

Nicola Sturgeon: I expect NHS Lanarkshire to take account of the views of local clinicians and staff in revising the service proposals which will then be subject to independent scrutiny.

  I will look to the Independent Scrutiny Panel to ensure that the views of all stakeholders – including local people - are taken into account before the revised proposals come to me for a final decision.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met NHS Lanarkshire prior to the announcement on accident and emergency services in the area and how long each meeting lasted.

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met the chair of NHS Lanarkshire prior to the announcement on accident and emergency services in the area and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, I had met twice prior to 6 June; the chair for approximately one hour and the Chair and Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire for approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met the Area Clinical Forum of NHS Lanarkshire prior to the announcement on accident and emergency services in the area and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, I had not met the Area Clinical Forum of NHS Lanarkshire prior to 6 June.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met the Medical Director of NHS Lanarkshire prior to the announcement on accident and emergency services in the area and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, I had not met the Medical Director of NHS Lanarkshire prior to 6 June.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met the Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire prior to the announcement on accident and emergency services in the area and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, I had met the Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire once prior to 6 June; for approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

Health

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met NHS Lanarkshire’s Area Partnership Forum prior to the announcement on accident and emergency services in the area and how long each meeting lasted.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, I had not met the Area Partnership Forum of NHS Lanarkshire prior to 6 June.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what capital funding has been given to (a) NHS National Services Scotland, (b) the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, (c) the Protein Fractionation Centre and (d) Alba Bioscience in each of the last four years.

Nicola Sturgeon: National Services Scotland (NSS) is given an annual capital allocation of c.£5 million to meet minor capital requirements across all its internal divisions. All further capital funding is by way of additional allocation from the Health Department for specific projects. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), a division of NSS, has not received any specific allocations from the Health Department during the four year period in question.

  The funding shown for SNBTS, the Protein Fractionation Centre (PFC) and Alba Bioscience (Alba) has therefore been made available from the minor capital fund allocated to NSS.

  The information requested, including a split of the total capital funding between funding for specific projects and the minor capital fund, is as follows:

  

Year
Total Capital Funding to NSS
(£ Million)
Capital Funding for Specific Projects1
(£ Million)
Minor Capital Fund
(£ Million)
Capital Funding to SNBTS2
(£ Million)
Capital Funding to PFC
(£ Million)
Capital Funding to Alba 
(£ Million) 


2003-04
18.4
13.9
4.5
1.45
0.32
0.09


2004-05
25.9
19.4
6.5
0.74
0.03
0.04


2005-06
21.9
16.9
5
2.34
0.63
0.05


2006-07
34.6
29.3
5.3
2.04
0.14
0.12

Housing

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that each local authority and the registered social landlords operating in its area should maintain a common housing register.

Nicola Sturgeon: Yes.

Housing

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in encouraging each local authority and its registered social landlords to develop a common housing register.

Nicola Sturgeon: Good progress is being made in most local authority areas in developing common housing registers (CHRs). There are operational CHRs in 10 local authority areas and 11 further areas expect their CHR to be operational later in 2007-08.

  Every local authority in Scotland has received funding to support CHR development, either through the Modernising Government Fund (2001) or the CHR programme (2004-07). Recently funding was awarded to allow the Scottish Housing Best Value Network to operate a CHR support service during 2007-08, providing practical advice and assistance to all social landlords.

Housing

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities maintain a common housing register.

Nicola Sturgeon: Operational common housing registers are currently maintained in ten local authority areas:

  Argyll and Bute; Aberdeen; City of Edinburgh; Inverclyde: Fife; Orkney; Perth and Kinross; Renfrewshire; Shetlands, and Scottish Borders (Hawick pilot).

Housing

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it makes available to assist each local authority and the registered social landlords operating in its area to develop and maintain a common housing register.

Nicola Sturgeon: In the period 2004 to 2007, a total of £2.54 million was made available to local authorities to support the development of common housing registers.

  A further £25,000 has been made available to West Lothian Council in 2007-08 to fund the common housing register support service provided by the Scottish Housing Best Value Network.

Housing

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to use the ministerial powers available under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to require local authorities and their housing partners to develop a common housing register.

Nicola Sturgeon: The need to use the powers provided in section 8 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 is kept under review.

Inter-Governmental Links

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet received any legal opinion or advice on 5 June 2007 from the Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General to inform its discussion about the memorandum of understanding between the UK and Libyan governments.

Kenny MacAskill: By long standing convention, recognised in the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the government does not disclose the matters on which it has, or has not, taken the advice of the Law Officers, nor does it disclose the content of such advice. I refer, however, to the terms of the First Minister’s statement to Parliament of 7 June (column 586 of the Official Report ).

Justice

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what reviews of policy are under way in the portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice.

Kenny MacAskill: Since the election we have commissioned three reviews: a review to consider options for enhancing the operational effectiveness of the provisions governing the destruction of DNA data in specific circumstances; a review of the existing antisocial behaviour strategy to see where it can be improved and strengthened and to ensure greater community involvement, and a review to consider the effectiveness of community penalties in Scotland, with a view to reforming and revitalising them.

Licensing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when guidance on the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 will be made available to local licensing boards.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Parliament approved the first draft guidance for Licensing Boards prepared under section 142 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 on 7 March 2007. The guidance was issued to boards on 4 April 2007 and is available at:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/175487/0049459.pdf .

  Revised guidance will be prepared later in the year to take account of the various Regulations being made under the act.

Licensing

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering raising the age at which alcohol can be bought from off-sales premises, including supermarkets.

Kenny MacAskill: No.

Livestock

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are legal obstacles to deer farmers receiving support through Common Agriculture Policy schemes in Scotland.

Richard Lochhead: Under the historic-based system for Single Farm Payments adopted in Scotland, no payments have been made in respect of deer farming because it was an unsupported sector during the 2000-02 reference period. While it is possible to fund entitlements to Single Farm Payments for deer farmers from the National Reserve using Article 42(5) of EC Regulation 1782/2003, this must be justified in terms of avoiding land abandonment and/or compensating specific disadvantages for farmers. Until recently the National Reserve was operated on a UK basis, but following the June Agriculture Council it should be possible to operate the National Reserve separately in Scotland.

Livestock

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the European Commission about including deer farmers in Common Agricultural Policy support schemes.

Richard Lochhead: Scottish Executive officials met Commission officials last year to clarify the use of Article 42(5) of EC Regulation 1782/2003 for potentially giving deer farmers access to entitlements from the National Reserve.

Maternity Services

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended number of ultrasound scans is for women during pregnancy.

Shona Robison: The Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland and the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland health technology assessment report recommend two ultrasound scans for all pregnant women.

Maternity Services

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all pregnant women are offered the number of routine scans recommended in NHS Quality Improvement Scotland guidelines.

Shona Robison: The NHS Quality Improvement Scotland publication National Overview – January 2007 Maternity Services  reported that following their review of their Clinical Standards for Maternity Services (carried out between November 2005 and June 2006), 10 out of the then 15 NHS health boards routinely carried out fetal anomaly scans at 18 to 22 weeks.

  We are working closely with NHSScotland to ensure that developments in screening during pregnancy, including the introduction of routine fetal anomaly scanning in those boards which do not currently offer this service, are introduced efficiently and effectively as soon as possible.

NHS Staff

Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current vacancy rate is for all posts in NHS Lanarkshire.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on vacancy rates for key staff only is collected centrally and is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at:  http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Information for NHS Lanarkshire is shown in the following table:

  

Staff Groups
Vacancy Rate


Medical and Dental (as at 30 September 2006)
13.2%


Nursing Registered (as at 31 March 2007)
2.5%


Nursing Non-Registered (as at 31 March 2007)
0.2%


AHP-Qualified (31 March 2007)
2.4%


AHP-Assistants (31 March 2007)
1.4%

Prison Service

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women currently in custody are serving (a) life imprisonment, (b) a sentence in excess of five years, (c) a sentence of from two to five years, (d) a sentence of between one and two years, (e) a sentence of six to 12 months, (f) a sentence of three to six months and (g) a sentence of under three months and how many are on remand.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The provisional female prison population by sentence length for 31 December 2006, the most recent day for which data can be released, is given in the following table.

  

Sentence
Female Population


Remand
96


Less than 3 months
12


3 to less than 6 months
19


6 months to less than 1 year
26


1 to less than 2 years
43


2 to less than 5 years
75


5 years and over (excluding Life)
26


Life
18


Recalls and Lifer Recalls
5


Total
320

Prison Service

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women currently serving custodial sentences were convicted of (a) murder, (b) culpable homicide, (c) attempted murder, (d) assault to severe injury, (e) illegal possession with intent to supply drugs, (f) wilful fire raising, (g) causing death by reckless driving and (h) theft, including theft by shoplifting.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The provisional female sentenced prison population by main offence for 31 December 2006, the most recent day for which data can be released, is given in the following table.

  

Main Offence
Female Population


Murder
18


Culpable Homicide
10


Attempted Murder
5


Serious Assault 
23


Supply and Illegal Possession with Intent to Supply Drugs
71


Fire Raising
1


Causing Death by Dangerous Driving
4


Death by Careless Driving Under the Influence of Drink or Drugs
0


Theft
28


All other crimes and offences
64


Total
224

Rape

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is undertaking a review of the prosecution of rape allegations and, if so, what the nature of that review is, when it expects it to be completed and whether it will publish its results.

Right Hon Elish Angiolini QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) completed its Review of the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Offences in Scotland last year and published its report in June 2006. A copy of the Report is available on the COPFS website at:  http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/9/0000174.pdf .

  An implementation team has been established to bring into effect the 50 recommendations. Seventeen of these have been implemented and work is scheduled and underway to implement the others.

Vaccines

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it will give to young women who are too old to take part in the vaccination programme against the human papilloma virus (HPV) but who wish to access the new HPV vaccine.

Shona Robison: The upper age limit for the HPV vaccination is currently being considered by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.